THE MIRROR Independent student newspaper
Week of October 18, 2023
Vol. 50 Issue 4
FUSA Approves New Logo and Bellarmine Campus Constitutional Amendments BY JULIAN NAZARIO Copy, Head News Editor
Julian Nazario / The Mirror
The squat racks, now located in one of the lower lever weight rooms, were moved to decrease noises levels in the building. Students, however, don’t see any benefits and have expressed dissapointment in the Fizz app.
Rearranged RecPlex Renews Debate About Gym Essentials
BY SAMANTHA RUSSELL Assistant News Editor A return from fall break left Fairfield University’s RecPlex with unexpected adjustments that have stirred mixed emotions among university students. Concerns with overcrowding have become a characteristic of The Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Recreation Complex in the past year. With increased student enrollment over the past two years, Fairfield University amenities have experienced an evident struggle with accommodating the large masses of students. The RecPlex has not been exempt from this issue. Assistant Director of Facilities and Events Brian Kabel expressed that these new renovations are meant to keep up with the relentless crowds noticed in the gym. “We’re tasked with, ‘how can we have the building set up in such a way that it’s more easily accessible during [peak] times?’” said Kabel. “It’s really just an opportunity for us to redo the layout a little bit and hopefully optimize efficiency, create some more open space.” Instead of finding four squat racks in the main weight room, students can now find one rack in its back, right corner and the remaining three downstairs in room LL5. The new weight room layout has additionally moved the free-weight section to the left side wall and has added two new pieces of equipment.
Kabel noted that, with the rise of at-home YouTube and TikTok workouts, many students only require a few square feet of space to complete their exercise routines. “Hopefully, again, it just creates a little bit better of an atmo-
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It’s really just an opportunity for us to redo the layout a little bit and hopefully optimize efficiency.” -Brian Kabel, Assistant Director of Facilities and Events sphere as far as people [not being] packed in,” he said. “Our goal is to maximize the usage of the building, especially during peak hours.” Director d Wellness Eli Olken-Dann added that the shifts were partly to accommodate the new pieces of equipment, and reaffirmed that students still have one squat rack to utilize upstairs. An overpopulation crisis was not the sole prompter of these changes. Kabel explained that squat racks create a substantial amount of noise when their weight plates are dropped on the f loor; this noise has acted as a disruption to the numerous fitness classes taking place on the f loor below. By moving the squat racks to the same f loor as these classes,
the overhead distraction is removed and a better atmosphere for Fairfield’s yoga and spin classes is established. Despite the intended benefit for students, many have expressed frustration and discontent with these alterations. Several of these students have taken to the app Fizz to express their concerns. On Oct. 10, one student posted the question, “Who [is] responsible for this awful redesign,” with an attached picture of the shifted layout. Another submission stated, “Upvote to bring the squat racks back,” followed by a crying emoji. An “upvote” signals agreement with a Fizz post. A Tire Flip 180 and a Vertical Crunch machine are the two advanced assets of the RecPlex’s repertoire. The Tire Flip 180 introduces students to CrossFit exercise in a more controlled environment. The tire is stationed to the ground with one-half able to f lip back and forth and by two to four people at once. Battle ropes are attached to the tire for multipurpose exercise, and resistance levels are able to be increased. The vertical crunch machine offers a two-in-one exercise opportunity for downward and upward crunches. This machine is plate-loaded and includes a swivel for more side-unique exercises. “Going forward,” explained Kabel, “if we get more new equipment we can then easily get rid of pieces that replicate the same thing.”
Fairfield University Student Association senators rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have turned the Health and Wellness Committee into a FUSA board during an Oct. 11 general Senate meeting. While senators were supposed to hold a vote for Bill 60-001, Modern Amendments to the FUSA Constitution, the process was disrupted by a group of senators who expressed dissatisfaction with the parliamentary process and instead preferred to hold votes for each section of the bill. “Is it possible to have the bill broken up by sections so we don’t have to vote on it altogether?” asked senior student Sen. Jake McGlinchy, during the floor debate. Another senator, Stefano Volpe ‘25, also questioned the motive for why the changes to the organization’s constitution were placed onto one bill, instead of breaking them into smaller bills. “A part of it is for convenience, that [is the reason why it] was put all together. After our discussion with FUSA
proposed amendment that would allow Bellarmine campus students to be FUSA officers “position dependent”. “In the FUSA Constitution, Article III will include Section 3.2.2, which states that ‘Position dependent, FUSA Officers may be students that are enrolled in Fairfield Bellarmine,’” reads Section 2, subsection B of Bill 60-001. Senior Matthew Adamski, one of the senators, raised the concern about whether Bellarmine students would be eligible to run for Senate. “There is nothing in the bill about senators from Bellarmine,” said Burns. “Bellarmine students would get the opportunity to get involved in FUSA, which means FUSA officers as well as clubs on campus.” A summer executive order signed on July 18 by President Aliyah Seenauth ‘24 established Bellarmine students will have a “Bellarmine President and Vice President and two Bellarmine Senators.” In the case of the two Bellarmine senators, Section 5.1.3 of the order denoted that they “are expected to attend all General Senate Meetings [and] will follow the same expectations that of FUSA Senators.”
Julian Nazario / The Mirror
FUSA senators have debated the constitutional amendments for three consecutive meetings and voted on Oct. 11 to approve most of them.
Executive about amendments in general, we wanted to get a lot of them down because the process for amendments is a really strenuous one and we really cared [about the proposed amendments],” said Senate Speaker Steven Burns ‘24 in response to Volpe’s question. Burns also described that having multiple, smaller bills on the same issue would have meant hosting different public forums with limited discussion and a more complicated process of ratification that needs at least two-thirds of approval from the 90 students who work for the FUSA Executive branch. One comprehensive bill solves, according to Burns, the problem of “getting hold of the people who would be voting.” Another question that surfaced from the pre-vote debate was on the
Due to the approved amendments, the executive order will no longer be in effect but it is still unclear what FUSA positions will be available to Bellarmine students.
Bill Saved After Multiple Rounds of Votes The first vote of the night occurred after Senator Volpe introduced the motion to vote on Bill 60-001. Of the 20 senators that composed the body, seven voted in favor, four against the bill and seven decided to abstain for reasons that were not provided. As the bill failed to reach the three-fourths majority required, Speaker Burns and Jeremy Kaler, Director of Student Engagement directed senators to refrain from abstaining if they did not have a conflict of interest. “I strongly encourage everyone
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